Parents, Kids, and the Internet

What Parents Should Know
"Blogging," "friending," "tagging," and "Googling" are all part of the new language of cyberspace. These are verbs children use everyday to talk about what they do online. It is important that parents understand this new language and provide their children with guidance in navigating the Internet. The Internet is a wonderful tool for children to do research, play games and to communicate with family and friends. Unfortunately, just as people can be rude, obnoxious, and exploitative in person, the anonymity of the Internet can sometimes amplify poor behavior and create an environment that is not always appropriate for children.

Get Involved and Set Rules
The best way to ensure your child's safety on the Internet is by getting involved and setting rules for your child's use of the Internet.
If you don't know how to access the Internet, ask your local library whether they offer free classes on how to use the Internet.
Spend time with your child when he/she is online.
Ask your child to share his/her blogs or online profiles with you.
Monitor the amount of time your child spends online.
Excessive use of online services, especially late at night, may signal a potential problem.
The same parenting skills that apply to the "real world" also apply online. Set rules for your child's use of the Internet.

Tips for Parents
Here are some other things you can do to help keep your child safe online:

• Privacy. Educate your child about the importance of keeping personal information private.
  • Discourage your child from giving out personal information such as his/her last name, age, home address, school name, or telephone number without your approval.
  • Discourage your child from sharing his/her online passwords with anyone other than you.
  • Familiarize yourself with how your child's information is being used online. Read the privacy policies of the websites your child visits regularly.
• Social Networking. Encourage your child to be honest about his/her age when signing up for social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Second Life and MySpace) or blogs. These sites and services often have minimum age requirements and may not be appropriate for all children.
• Posting Images/Videos. Discourage your child from posting photos or videos online without your approval.
• Inappropriate Messages. Discourage your child from responding to messages that are suggestive, obscene, threatening, or otherwise inappropriate.
• Meeting Strangers. Don't allow your child to arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone he/she met over the Internet without your approval. Remember that people online may not be who they say they are.
• Other Tips:
  • Advertising and Inaccurate Information. Teach your child to be a critical consumer of information. Make sure your child knows that not everything he/she reads on the Internet is true.
  • Child Exploitation. If you or your child becomes aware of the transmission of child pornography, report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.
  • Communication. Talk with your child about his/her favorite websites, how much time he/she should spend online, what information he/she can share with online friends and what kinds of sites you want him/her to visit.

For more tips, please go to the following websites: ConnectSafely.org or fbi.gov.

 Reprinted from the New York Public Library web page, http://www.nypl.org/legal/safety.cfm